Washington DC: NETWORK is pleased to confirm that Sister Simone Campbell has accepted an invitation to speak at the Democratic National Convention on the evening of Wednesday, September 5. This will provide an important opportunity to talk about what she has learned after decades of work for social and economic justice.

We also regret that no similar invitation was extended by the Republican National Convention and that, despite our efforts, NETWORK was unable to find a venue there for sharing information about economic justice rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. Sister Campbell would have been delighted to speak at the convention.

We are pleased that Cardinal Dolan will be present at both the Republican and Democratic conventions.

5. You know nothing. She has nothing to do with Dolan other than that they're both

Catholics, like Biden and the Kennedys and millions of other Catholic progressives. Unless you're an anti-Catholic bigot, there's no reason to speak about her that way. She recognizes, as you clearly don't, that the Dems invited Dolan to their convention because the GOP was pretending that Dolan's blessing at their convention was equivalent to an endorsement. Now Dolan has been neutralized. This is a good thing.

Simone Campbell is one of the Nuns on a Bus that deliberately scheduled their campaign to COUNTER the Bishop's campaign against the birth control mandate and to speak out on the needs of the poor and oppressed. Her group is involved in strong efforts to speak out against the Paul Ryan budget.

If she is a hate monger because she's Catholic, then so is every other Catholic on DU. Are you really trying to go there? Do you want to bully and insult all progressive Catholics into leaving the party?

20. Correct. nt

18. With all due respect

The Catholic Church has been a leader in social justice for decades. During the Civil Rights movement, it was Catholic Priests and nuns who stood shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The first AIDS wards were created in New York City Catholic hospitals. Cardinal O'Connor would go every night, down to St. Vincent's Hospital in the Village, and wash and feed AIDS patients. Oscar Romero was a Catholic Bishop who stood up to the El Salvadoran right wing death squads, and paid for it with his life. It was Catholic Priests who helped the civil rights movement, gain ground in Northern Ireland. It was Catholic churches who stood up for Labor, during strikes. Granted, the Church is antiquated on issues of choice and gay rights, but that should not eliminate all the good it has done.